Experts from JPMorgan Chase predicted that bitcoin will surpass gold in terms of growth rates. The prerequisite for this is the 'maturity' of the cryptocurrency derivatives market, reports Decrypt citing the organization's report.
"We expect that the zero-sum game between gold and bitcoin, which has been going on since the beginning of the year, will continue until the end of the year, but we believe that the catalysts related to cryptocurrencies will create greater growth potential for bitcoin compared to gold in the second half of the year," the bank's client note states.
Specifying the catalysts, experts pointed to the recent deals of the platforms Coinbase and Kraken regarding expansion in the derivatives segment.
Thus, in particular, the exchange Coinbase acquired the platform Deribit for $2.9 billion. The company Kraken, for its part, entered into an agreement to purchase the platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion.
JPMorgan Chase experts also pointed to the Gemini exchange receiving a license to offer derivatives in Europe. All of this indicates the maturity of the sector, according to the organization.
"The world of cryptocurrency derivatives is evolving and, falling under regulation in the USA or EU, could inspire trust and more active participation from traditional institutional investors," the note states.
Notably, we previously highlighted a bank report suggesting that bitcoin allegedly failed to realize its potential as a hedge asset compared to gold.
At the same time, the first cryptocurrency showed a jump against the backdrop of an agreement between the USA and China regarding the reduction of tariffs for a period of 90 days.
However, in the event of further escalation of the conflict, this factor could serve as a driver for growth already for gold, noted in a comment to Decrypt the head of the Argo platform, Michael Pech.